Mail-tag



(No Model. J

G. BARTLEY.

I MAIL TAG. No. 859,049. Patented Mar. 8, 1887.

. a 0' WITNESSES my 3, aw fi v Afforneys N. PETERS, Phm-Limogn her,Wammgion. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HARTLEY, 0E CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MAIL-TAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,049, dated March 8,1887.

Application filed December 15, 1886. Serial No. 221,655. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE BARTLEY, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Mail-Tags; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention. such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved tag or label designed moreespecially for the United States mail-service, which tag is bifurcatedat one end to embrace the cord of a mail-sack and has hook-notches madein reverse order in the respective prongs of the tag to receive the cordwhen the tag is given a quarter-turn, to gether with a spring-actuatedpush-bar to hold the cord in the notches, to the end that no extra cordis needed for securing the tag, that the latter may be quickly attachedto or detached from the cord of the mail sack, and when in position onthe said cord is absolutely secure as against accidental displacement.The ordinary mail-sack has eyelets and a running cord for securing themouth of the sack. In ordinary practice a tag is secured to themail-sack by means of an extra cord, the tag usually consisting of ablock of wood with the destination and direction for return printedthereon. A hole is made in one end of the tag and the latter is strungon a piece of heavy cord and is secured to the mail-sack by tying thetag-cord either around the sack or to the sack-cord, usually the latter.In removing the tag the tagcord is cut and thrown away, and when the tagis again wanted it is againstrung, but on anew cord. The waste of cordthus accruing is in the aggregate enormous, as is also the waste of timein cutting such cord to lengths and stringing the tags and tying thelatter to the mail-sack.

As an improvement I have devised the tag illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing the upper portion of amail-sack in its closed position with my improved tag in positionthereon. Figs. 2 and 3 are plans, the former being partly in section andshowing the cord in position in the notches, and the latter showing thepush-bar depressed and the cord in position to enter the notches.

A represents a portion of a mail-sack secured in the usual manner by thecord a, the latter being usually clamped or tied to hold the mouth ofthe sack closed.

B is tlietag or label, as it is sometimes called. The body of the tag isusually of wood, the destination of the sack and direction for thereturn of the same being usually printed on the wooden part. Thetag hasa metal head, 0, and the latter has wings or flanges O, for embracingand attaching to the wood. The head is bifurcated to embrace the cord (1of the sack. and has hook-notches 0 made in reverse position in therespective prongs of the head. A notch commencing at the edge of theprong extends laterally and curves upward toward the end of the prong,and terminates midway of the prong in a lateral direction, as shown, sothat the upper ends of the two notches are in line with each other. I

A push-bar, D, has a Tshaped head, d, that operates in the slot 0 of thehead. The shank of the push-bar extends into a chamber or socket, b, andis connected with a spiral spring, E, the latter being secured at thebottom of the socket, as shown, by means of which arrangement thepush-bar is thrust outward by the spring to the position shown in Fig.2, but is held by the spring from being lost out of the tag. Inattaching the tag the prongs c are placed astride the cord at and aslight pressure endwise of the tag is applied to depress the pushbar byforcing it against the cord. XVhen the head of the p ash-bar has reachedthe bottom of the slot, as shown in Fig. 2, the cord is in position toenter the notches, after which the tag is given a quarter-turn to forcethe cord into the notches; Meantime the end pressure on the tag isrelieved and the spring-actuated push-bar forces the cord to the upperend of the notches and holds-it secure as against any possibledisplacement by accident. By reversing these movements of the tag thelatter is detached from the cord, the attaching or detaching of the tagrequiring but a moments time.

In removing an ordinary tag by cutting the tag-cord some care must beexercised so as not to cut the sack or the saek-cord, the operationrequiring about the same time as the removal of my improved tag by anexpert operator,

While my tag can be attached in much less time than the ordinary tag! Inconsideration of the cost of the tag-cords, the time spent in cuttingthem to lengths and stringing the tags, it Will be seen that theintroduction of my improved tag will effect a great saving in mailSBIVICG.

WVhat I claim is 1. A tag for attaching to the cord of mailsacks, thesame having a bifurcated end for embracing the cord, hook-shaped notchesmade in reverse order in the respective prongs of the tags and aspring-actuated device for holding the cord in the notches,substantially as 15 set forth.

2. The combination, with the body of the GEORGE BARTLEY.

Witnesses:

CHAS. H. DOREIQ, ALBERT E. LYNCH.

